Loose Ends
by KayKayeLLe
Summary: FINSHED Mary and Wilson are engaged. Is life finally going to cut them some slack?
1. Default Chapter

Loose Ends

***Disclaimer: I do not own 7th Heaven, or any of the character's mentioned in this story. They belong to the talented Brenda Hampton.***

A/N: This is the third story in my series. The first is Strange Circumstances, the second is Love Conquers all, and now this. How about a little recap? This story starts where the other story leaves off, but about 10 minutes after. Not much to fill you in on. If you have any questions, try reading the other two stories, all posted on this site. Hope you enjoy!

Watching the police car pull away with Robbie in the back, Mary sobs on Wilson's shoulder. Many things are going through her head, but the one that screams for her attention is one of the more recent events, Wilson just proposing to her. _Wow. We're going to get married. _She is truly blown away by the thought of it. Yes, it is what she has wished for for a long time now, but it is still mind-boggling._ I want this. I do. I'm just shaken up._

"Are you ok?" he asks her, breaking her continuous flow of thoughts.

"Yeah, sort of. Can we get out of here though?"

"Sure. I should go get Billy. We can go to my house and drop him off."

"I was thinking more along the lines of somewhere we could talk."

"Not a bad talk I hope." He says with a smile on his face.

"No, a good talk. We just have some stuff to work out, that's all."

"Like what?"

"Like when we're going to tell people, and a date, and what to do when everyone freaks out, and-"

Wilson touches Mary's face with his hand. "Don't worry. Everything is going to be fine. And whatever you want to do is fine with me." He leans down and lightly kisses Mary's lips. "I love you. Now let's go." He extends his hand out to her and she takes it.

Mrs. Camden comes walking towards them, and Mary shoves her left hand into Wilson's pocket. "Not now." she whispers to him, as her mom nears. 

"Are you all right Mare?"

"Sort of, I will be. I have to get out of here. Wilson and I are going to go somewhere, I won't be gone long."

"Okay, but come here for a second." She says, lightly tugging at her daughters arm.

Mary quickly moves her hand form Wilson's pocket to behind her back, as she follows her mother a couple of feet away from Wilson. 

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For not understanding what you've been trying to tell me for six months. When Robbie showed up at the door, I saw the hate in his eyes. It was scary. He really has changed. I remember when he first came to the house, I honestly didn't think he was that bad. But I understand now, and I wanted to apologize for being so hard on you and for everything. I know this has all been tough on you, but seeing him now gave me a peek into your world." Annie clutches her daughter tightly to her. "And I'm sorry you had to go through all of this. I know it's not my fault, but I feel like I've failed as a mother, as a friend, and that I've failed you."

"You haven't failed me Mom, not at all. Neither has Dad. Even though I get a little annoyed at you both sometimes, I still love you. I couldn't ask for better parents. I know it's hard for you both though, because you want to try to get through to me and I won't let you. But just know that every time you talk to me, whether I like what you're saying or not, I listen. I take everything you say into consideration, and I love you."

"I love you too. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yes, let me go out with Wilson."

"Oh yeah," Annie says, remembering her daughter's previous statement. "Sure.  I hope everything will be OK for you Mary."

"It will be Mom, don't worry about me so much. Everything will be fine." She says, pulling away from her mother and rejoining Wilson.

"Ready to go?" he asks her. She nods, and they walk back inside to go get Billy. Billy doesn't want to go home, though. He is having too much fun playing with Sam and David. Annie says that he is more then welcome to stay, and Mary and Wilson leave the house in his car. 

"Ok, so where are we going?"

"Uh…I don't know. McArthur's point?"

"In the middle of the day?"

"Do you have a better place?"

"No, that's fine."

Once they arrive, they turn in their seats to face each other. Before one word is said, they kiss passionately for 5 minutes.

"I love you."

"I love you too." Mary tells him. "Now what are we going to do?"

"About what?"

"Telling everyone."

"We don't have to tell them today. Whenever you're ready is fine."

"But I want to tell them today, as soon as possible. Not that I'm looking forward to it, but I feel like we're lying to everyone by not telling them."

"OK. So do you want to go round everyone up and do it right now?"

"Not _right_ right now. We still have to figure out exactly what we're going to say to them."

"How about: Mary and I have something to tell you. We're engaged."

"Not funny."

"What? I was being serious. Why are you so tense?"

"Because I don't think my parents are going to exactly approve of me getting married at age 18 while going to college."

"Since when do you listen to them? And we don't have to get married when you're 18. We can get married when you're 19, or 20, or whenever you want."

"Are you saying you want a long engagement?"

"Not particularly, but if that's what's going to satisfy you then so be it."

"I don't want that long of an engagement, maybe a summer wedding…"

"Sure, that's fine."

"And you know, what you said before is fine too. We shouldn't have to think of this big elaborate speech."

"So want to go tell everyone that one day this summer you are going to make me the happiest man alive?"

Mary smiles. "Sure. Whose parents should we tell first?"

"How about we swing by my house, pick my mom and dad up, and bring them over to your house and tell everyone together, that way no one will feel left out."

"That'd be a lot of people. We could tell our parents first, then tell my brothers and sisters."

"Yeah, that's fine. But I have one thing to ask of you. When you're parents tell you how ridiculous this all is, pleas don't start yelling at them. Try your best to remain calm; everything will go much easier that way."

"Fine."

"And will you lighten up? You really are acting crazy. I'm serious; chill."

"Sorry, I'm just nervous."

"Nervous about what?"

"I don't know, everything…"

"Like?"

Mary doesn't answer.

"Come on, talk to me Mare. What's going on inside your head?"

"I'm scared."

"Okay. Scared about what?"

"Well, getting married is scary, and so is getting engaged."

"I guess."

"And having to tell everyone is way scary. Couldn't we just run away?"

"Where? Why? See, I think you're making this too difficult. Tell them first, then worry about that they say. Maybe it won't be that bad."

Mary glares at him, and he smiles as he starts the car.

Back at the Camden house, Annie and Eric are on the couch, Dr. and Mrs. West on the other, and Mary and Wilson are sitting together on the oversized armchair. The young lovers hold hands nervously, clutching to the others sweaty palms for dear life. No one dares speak, for fear of what this is will bring about, as their eyes dart around the quaint room.

Finally, Reverend Camden can't take the silence any more. He is a man of words more than actions, unlike his idol. "What exactly is this about you two?"

Mary's quickly looks up at Wilson, looking for his approval. He smiles at her, and she begins.

"Wilson and I have something we want to tell you."

Worry quickly overtakes the faces of both sets of parents. Wilson is truly hurt by the action. He thought the four adults knew him better than that, especially the Camdens. He quickly dispels those feelings though, and focuses on the matter at hand.

"Mary and I got engaged."

The West's breath a sigh of relief as the worry on the Camdens' faces turn to shock, then to anger.

"Y-you're getting married?" Annie stutters.

Mary nods her head. Dr. West stands up and hugs his son. "Congratulations." He says to Wilson, who is then followed by his mother. While Wilson and his family rejoice, Mary's eyes stay glued to her parents. Before she knows it, Mrs. West has her arms around her, happiness radiating from her body. "I guess you're going to be my new daughter in law." She says in a cheerful tone. Mary smiles, happy that Wilson's parents are handling this well - definitely better than her parents are. 

Everyone retakes their seats, as their glances turn to Eric and Annie. They haven't moved at all, nor have they even blinked.

"We'll see ourselves out." Mrs. West says to them. "Congratulations Wilson, Mary."

Once they hear the front door close, Eric stands up.

"Wilson, I've known you for a while now, long enough to treat you like my own son. And Mary, I know you too well. So I have to ask, did you pressure him into this? Did you make him propose to you?"

"Dad! No, I did not make him propose to me. I didn't have any idea he was even thinking about it."

"So you two got engaged without even discussing marriage first?"

"We've talked about it."

"And this was the conclusion you came to?! To get engaged a week and a half before you start college!"

"Its not like I planned it like this, but this is the way it worked out." She says, trying her best to remain calm. "And it's not like we're getting married tomorrow. We were thinking more like next summer."

"Oh and I assume you got engaged weeks ago but just decided to tell us now."

"No, we got engaged this morning, and the first thing I wanted to do was tell you guys."

"Was this before or after Robbie dropped by to stalk you?!"

"During." Mary mumbles. 

"WHAT?!" Eric screams. "I-I don't know what to say to you." He sits back down on the couch.

"With all due respect, Sir," Wilson interjects, "I think you're being a little hard on Mary- a little hard on us." He squeezes Mary's hand tightly as a he sees a tear rolls down her cheek. "I love Mary with all of my heart-"

"And I love Wilson."

"And we want to get married. And I'd like to point out that we have been dating longer than a lot of couples date before they get engaged. We've dated for almost four years now."

"Yes, but not consecutively."

"Dad!'' Mary pleads.

"Mary, why don't you give your father and I a little time to adjust to all of this. We'll talk later, the four of us." Annie interjects. "Come on, Eric." 

The two of them leave the room, leaving Mary and Wilson alone. As soon as they leave the room, Wilson clutches Mary tightly to him. He never realized how hard she has it. Now he understands why she was so freaked out before.

"Are you OK?"

"Yeah, I will be. I really do wish we could run away though."

"But we can't. Let's go get your brothers and sisters and tell them the good news."

They walk out of the living room and into the kitchen, where Ruthie is making herself lunch. Just as they are asking her to go into the living room, Simon walks in the back door with Matt carrying his laundry. The three of them leave and go inside, as Wilson and Mary go upstairs to get Lucy. They find her and bring her down with them.

They group disperses throughout the couches, and Mary and Wilson stand before them. Mary whispers something into Wilson's ear and he nods. 

"Okay, you guys aren't Mom and Dad, so there's no need to beat around the bush. This morning, Wilson asked me to marry him, and I said yes."

They all begin to talk at once as they stand up to hug Mary and congratulate the happy couple. Even Matt, who has an opinion on everything Mary does, has no comments on their recent engagement. All he does is shake Wilson's hand and hug his sister, like the rest of the family does. 

After they all leave and return to what they were doing before, Mary and Wilson flop down onto the couch.

"Who are we forgetting?" Wilson asks Mary as he puts her arms around her gently.

"Mom, Dad, Matt, Lucy, Simon, Ruthie, your parents…Sam and David?"

"Billy" they both say at once.

Mary turns to Wilson, unsure of how to handle this. "Its up to you how you want to tell him. Whatever you decide to do is perfectly fine with me. I don't have to be there if you want to tell him alone."

"I completely forgot about Billy." Wilson remarks. He remains seated for one more minute, and then he kisses Mary on the cheek. "I'll be right back." He tells her as he gets up. Mary feels for him, but lets him go.

Wilson walks upstairs and peers into the twins' room, where they are both playing with Billy. He stands there, watching his four-year-old son, and tears form in his eyes. He falls victims to his emotions, and starts weeping at the door. Billy hears him and looks up, and sees his father crying.

"What's wrong Daddy?"

"Nothing Billy." He sniffles.

Mary walks up behind Wilson and wraps her arms around him. She notices that he is hurting, and doesn't really know what to do. She sees the tears falling from his eyes, even though he is trying his best to hide them. She takes her hand and wipes them away from his eyes.

"I never thought I'd be wiping away your tears." She says to him with a smile. "You're not OK with this, let's talk."

"Could you give me a little bit?" he asks her.

"Sure." She lightly kisses his lips, not sure if that was the right thing to do. "I love you."

Wilson just nods. Even though this hurts Mary, she understands. She walks upstairs to her bedroom, and lies down on her bed. _What do I do now? My life is so complicated._ As soon as she starts to organize her thoughts, Wilson enters her room.

"I'm going to take Billy home. I-I'll come backlater, or I'll call you, OK?"

"Yeah, I guess." 

She gets up and kisses him good-bye. She can feel the tenseness running throughout his body, and he looks at her in shame. Wilson turns around and walks out of the door. A confused Mary walks back to her bed and sits down.  Three minutes pass, and she hears Wilson's car door close. She quickly springs up, and looks out her window. She sees Wilson sitting in his car, sobbing uncontrollably, not even attempting to start up his car. _I can't let him leave like this._

Mary runs out of the house as fast as she can and rushes to Wilson's car.

"Don't go. Talk to me, please. Say something to me. I don't understand- I mean, I can assume- but make me understand. Please."

"I can't. Not right now. I'm not ready. I have to go bring Billy home."

"Ok. Are we OK though?"

"I'll come back later."

Later, Mary is still lying on the bed, bawling her eyes out. She is in a state of utter confusion, and wishes Wilson would call. She is lost in her thoughts, and does not notice Ruthie enter the room.

"Uh…is Lucy up here?" she asks apprehensively.

"No." Mary answers, barely audible.

Ruthie walks over and sits down on Mary's bed.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, you wouldn't understand."

"I understand more than you think. Why are you crying? Shouldn't you be happy?"

"I am happy, I think."

"Then what's bothering you?"

"He's upset and I can't help him. And I don't know if he still wants to marry me or not."

"Why wouldn't he? We all know he loves you."

"Maybe."

"He does and you know it."

"But-"

"Does this have anything to do with Mom locking me and Simon the twin's room this morning?"

"No. Well, sort of."

"Talk to me. I'm not going to tell anyone, and you know I'll find out anyways."

Mary laughs. "Ok. Wilson's upset, really upset, and I can't help him."

"You told me that already. _Why_ can't you help him?"

"Because he won't talk to me."

"Do you know what's bothering him?"

"I have an idea…"

"Tell me."

"He's in love with someone else."

"WHAT?!"

"No, no no." Mary says, trying to dismiss Ruthie's backwards thoughts. "Billy's mother."

"Oh."

"You know, I don't feel comfortable talking about this, not before I talk to him."

Ruthie thinks back to the many in-depth conversations she has had with her siblings. This would definitely be the toughest problem she has had to tackle so far.

"I have an idea." She says suddenly, as she stands on the bed and peers out the window. She runs out of the room, and flies down the stairs. She sees her mother sitting in the living room with her father talking.

"Where's Lucy?" she asks.

"In the kitchen." Eric says unenthusiastically.

Ruthie storms into the kitchen, startling Lucy. She grabs Lucy's hand, and drags her out.

"What are you doing?"

"I need you to do me a favor, a huge favor. Well, not for me exactly, for Mary."

"What? What are you talking about?"

Ruthie opens the front door, and points at Wilson.

"He helped you once, now it's your turn to help him, and help your sister."

Lucy and Ruthie approach Wilson's car, as he tries to pull himself together before they reach him. Ruthie opens the door to the back seat and takes Billy out of his car seat and walks him into the house as Lucy sits down in the passengers' side. 

"Remember when you helped me when my friend passed away? Well, I'm here to return the favor, and to help out Mary, but mostly to help you. Can I do anything? Are you ready to talk?"

"Only if you promise not to tell Mary anything." Lucy nods. "I love Mary. I really do. And I want to marry her. But then when I saw Billy, I lost it. I miss her so much, Lucy. I won't talk to Mary because she won't understand. I don't want her to feel like I don't love her either, or that I don't love her as much as Billy's mother. I shouldn't even be thinking in terms of that, who I love more. Its not the amount of love, its just that I love Mary. And I do want to spend the rest of my life with her. I don't know. I'm confused."

"Well, I haven't talked to her yet today, but if I know Mary, she's probably just as confused and scared as you are. Why don't you go talk to her?"

"I don't know what to say."

"Tell her what you just told me. She'll understand. And if she doesn't, try to explain it to her. It will make you both feel better."

"Ok. I'll try it. Thanks Lucy."

Wilson knocks quietly at Mary's bedroom door and walks in. She is extraordinarily happy to see him standing there, and motions for him to sit down on the bed. She grabs his hand, and looks into his eyes, trying to find some indication that things were going to be OK. She doesn't find whatever she is looking for, but she feels compelled to kiss him. She grabs his face and pushes her lips against his, needing to physically feel his love. Wilson does not resist or pull away. He enjoys every second of it, and begins to deepen the kiss. She lets his tongue enter her mouth, as they lie back onto the bed beneath them. Their joy from the day is let out in their kiss.

Wilson slips his hand under the hem of Mary's shirt, caressing the smooth skin just above her belly button. She moans slightly, as her hands move form his face to his hair, running her fingers through his black locks. Eventually they gain composure of themselves, and pull back, leaning their foreheads against one another's. 

"I'm sorry. I just got confused. I love you, and I want to marry you. What happened was, when I saw Billy, and thought of you being his mother, it made me think of Brittany. I kind of lost it. I'm sorry."

"I figured that's what it was. So are we all right?"

"Yes, everything's fine."

"So, um, did you tell Billy?"

"No, I want to tell him with you. But let's sit here for a little bit."

Mary leans her had against Wilson's shoulder, and he kisses the top of her head. "Everything is going to be fine. It has to be, I couldn't possibly handle any more pain."

If you read the other 2 stories: Is this worth continuing? Are you getting sick of it? Is this too repetitive and tiring? I could get one more story after this one out of this main plot. Is it worth the effort? Please tell me what you think of this story by itself, and this story as a part of my little series I have going.


	2. Chapter 2

Nearly two weeks later, Mary and Wilson are trying to talk to five-year-old Billy, and tell them that they're engaged. Mary can tell that Wilson is up to something, but can't exactly tell what. Billy is sitting in Mary's lap, with Wilson at her side. He is holding the two of them tightly to him. Wilson gets up and goes over to a bookcase. He takes out a big light blue scrapbook, and brings it over to Mary and Billy.

"Billy, I have something to show you. Do you remember your other Grandma and Grandpa?" Billy nods. "They gave me this on your second birthday, and now I'm sharing it with you." He opens the book and starts to flip through the pages. "See Billy, that's your Mommy." He says as he points to one of the pictures. 

After they finish the book, Mary is practically in tears. Wilson begins to move on to the real reason this whole thing started.

"Now Billy, Mary loves you very much. She already treats you like she's your Mommy, and after we get married Mary's going to take care of you, just like a mommy would. Is that OK with you?"

"Yeah!" he says enthusiastically. "But Daddy, why did my real Mommy have to go away?"

"When you were born, she got very sick, but she chose for you to be healthy."

"Is she in heaven?"

"Yes Billy."

"Ok." Billy says, his curiosity satisfied. He slides off of Mary's lap, and walks into his bedroom to play with his toy cars.

"Wow. I, uh, wow. What do I say to that?" Mary asks, once Billy is out of the room.

"You don't have to say anything. It was important for you to be here when I told Billy that we were engaged. And I know that you were just as curious about her as Billy was, so I figured I'd let you see the book, too."

"Are you OK? Do you want to talk or something?"

"I'm fine, and I don't want to talk. I want to take a nap with you; it'll make me feel better."

"What about Billy?"

"He'll be fine. I'm not really that tired anyways."

They walk into Wilson's bedroom, and lie down on his bed. 

"So, is everything in order now?"

"It should be."

"Great. I can't wait to be married to you. I want to be able to lay here with you and have nothing be wrong with it."

"I agree. It does kind of feel sinful lying with you on my bed."

"I'm the minister's kid here, only I can throw around words like 'sinful'." Wilson laughs. "Oh, that reminds me." Mary says as she stands up and takes a piece of paper out of her pocket. "Our engagement was announced in the church bulletin."

"That's great. I'm glad your parents finally came around."

"Me too. They can be so stubborn sometimes. But I guess when push comes to shove, they're pretty OK."

Wilson smiles as Mary lies back down beside him. "Well, I'm glad that this part of everything is over. I can't believe I have to start school in 3 days."

"It won't be so bad."

"I know. It'll cut into the time we get to spend together though."

"That's OK. This is something you have to do."

"No, this is something everyone tells me I have to do. I don't want to."

"It'll be fine and then it won't seem like your being forced." Wilson kisses Mary tenderly. "You worry too much. Relax."

"That helps."

Wilson kisses her again, as they both lie there filled with contentment. 

Three days later, after Mary's first day of college, her parents and Wilson are in the kitchen talking with her. 

"So, where do you plan on living once you guys are married?" Mrs. Camden says.

"I hadn't thought of that. It seems so long form now. We haven't discussed it yet, somewhere close I hope." says Mary.

The phone rings, and Mary gets up to answer it. She picks up the portable phone and steps into the hallway to be able to hear the person on the other end.

"Hello?"

"Mary?"

"Yes, who is this?"

"Are you and Wilson engaged?"

"Robbie?" Mary questions, although she is sure it is him.

"Yeah, its me. Are you and Wilson engaged?" he asks again, with a harsh tone in his voice.

"Yes, we are." she answers, getting a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her intuition tells her to hang up the phone, but she does not listen.

"I loved you Mary. You made the wrong choice, and now you are going to have to live with its consequences the rest of your life."

"What are you talking about?"

"Goodbye Mary, forever."

Mary hears Robbie drop the phone on the ground, and there is silence for a few seconds. Next, she hears a faint click and a loud gunshot followed by a dull thud. Her first instinct is to call out to him, but she knows that is futile. Robbie is dead. He killed himself over her – over not being able to have her. Instead, she clicks the receiver and dials the police station, asking for Sgt. Michaels.

"I-I-I" Mary stammers, not able to put a sentence together.

"Calm down Mary. What's the problem?"

"Robbie, R-Robbie's dead."

"Where are you?"

"At my house."

"Is Robbie there?"

"No."

"Then where is he?"

"I-I don't know."

Sergeant Michaels is confused. "Then how do you know he's dead?"

"Because he called me. He said I made the wrong choice, and then he said goodbye forever. I heard a gunshot."

"You don't know he's dead."

"Yes I do. I can feel it. You have to do something."

"There isn't much I can do. Do you think he could have been at his house?"

"Probably. I'm not sure."

"Do you know where he lives?"

"314 Maple Street."

"Ok. I'll go over there and check it out. If I see anything or find anything out, I'll let you know."

"Ok. T-thank you. Could you let me know if you don't find anything, too?"

"Sure. But Mary…"

"Yes?"

"Are you ok? If you want to talk or something I'm here- your dad's good at that stuff too."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Do you want me to tell your parents what happened?"

"No, I'll do it. I'll be OK, Wilson's here."

"All right. You take care of yourself." He tells her, and hangs up the phone.  

Mary doesn't know what to do. Her stomach felt hollow and her mind was racing. She had to sit down before she passed out. She walks into the living room, closing the sliding doors behind her, and sits down on the couch. She quietly begins to sob, but really doesn't know what for. Most of her hated Robbie, but she had once loved him. That was all over though - she's marrying Wilson now. But mainly she was crying because she was mad at herself. She's mad that she's happy Robbie's dead, happy he won't bother her anymore. She becomes extremely confused, saddened, and upset. She looks over at the other couch, and remembers when Robbie came over, and sat on that couch, just over six months ago. 

She runs through their conversation one more time, looking for something she might have missed. 

_How did he know we are getting married? The church bulletin? _

_I feel awful. This is my fault. I drove him to this. He even said I drove him to this.   
Should I have stayed with him? No, he raped me.   
Did he really shoot himself? Maybe he didn't. What am I thinking? I know he did._

Mary's thoughts grow unclear and she looses her focus. She lies down on the couch. She starts to weep, over what she is not sure, and tries to keep her volume in check. 

Fifteen minutes later, she can here shuffling out in the foyer. Wilson slides the door open, and is surprised to see Mary inside.

"Is this where you've been all this time?" He walks closer to her and sees the tears on her face. "Are you crying?" he asks, and sits down on the couch next to her. "What's wrong?"

"R-R-R-Robbie's…Robbie's…"

"Yeah, what about him?"

"He's dead. He killed himself because I love you."

"Huh?" Wilson asks, completely confused over Mary's previous statement.

Mary breathes heavily and tires to think of something that will actually make sense. "Robbie's dead." She says again.

"He is? How do you know?"

"Because he called me."

"That's who was on the phone? Wait- if he's dead, how did he call you? And what do you mean dead?"

"Robbie called and asked me if we were engaged. I said we were. Then he said that he loved me, and 'goodbye forever'. I heard a gunshot and him fall to the floor." Mary's tears flow heavily and she cannot stop them. "He's dead, he's dead. He killed himself because of me- because of you and me. I'm guilty of killing him."

Wilson doesn't really know what to say to her. "Um…you didn't do anything wrong. He did. He ended your relationship and he killed himself, not you."

"I know, but I still feel like it's my fault."

"But its not. It isn't."

"Yes it is! I drove him to this. Maybe I should have-"

"Should have what? There's nothing you could have done."

Mary starts to sob, knowing that Wilson is right. They hear a knock at the front door, and Mary gets silent. They can hear Eric answer the door.

"Oh, hello Sergeant Michaels."

Mary gets up and bolts out of the room. She runs into to the front door, almost knocking her father over.

"What happened?" she asks.

"Well Mary, you were right. We investigated Robbie's house and found him. I'm sorry."

Mary face goes pale, and her eyes start to tear up. She feels a hand on her back, and turns around to see Wilson. He wraps his arms around her as her tears fall silently from her eyes.

"What happened to Robbie?"

"Oh, Eric, you don't know?"

"Robbie committed suicide because of me being engaged to Wilson." Mary blurts out, unable to look her father in the eye.

"How did you know?" Reverend Camden asks her.

"Because he called before. He did it while we were still on the phone; he shot himself."

"Did he say he did it because you and Wilson were engaged?"

"Not in so many words…"

"What exactly did he say?"

"He asked me if we were engaged, and I said we were. Then he said I had made the wrong choice, and that I would have to live with the consequences. He said goodbye to me and shot himself."

"Oh Mary, are you OK?"

"No, but Wilson's here. He'll help me."

"Ok. I'm here for you if you want to talk." He tells his daughter.

"I know." Mary takes Wilson's hand and walks back into the living room, reclosing the doors behind her. Wilson sits down on the couch, and Mary lies down on her back, with her head lying in Wilson's lap. She tries to stare up into his eyes, but can't bear to look at them. There is too much pain inside of her.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" he asks her.

"No, this is helping."

"I feel like I should be doing something though. I know what its like to loose someone."

"Yeah, but its different. I hated him, but I loved him once."

"Loved?"

"Well not really loved, liked. I feel bad for being so mean to him, and for yelling at him. If I hadn't, or if I talked to him more and tried to explain things, maybe he'd still be alive."

"Its not your fault. I already told you that."

"But maybe if I was the one who told him we were engaged."

"There is no way you could have known how he was going to take this. But the one thing that doesn't make sense to me is why he would rape you if he loved you so much."

"That doesn't make sense to me either. But he always was a weird person…" Mary's eyes start to get teary again.

"I'm sorry." Wilson says. "Come here, sit up." Mary does as he says. Wilson puts one arm around her and pulls her close to him. "I love you Mary."

"I love you too."

"You sure there isn't anything I can do?"

"This is enough, really. You can't help me with this, not any more than you are doing right now."

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind."

"No. Tell me. If I can't help, I at least want to know what your thinking."

"Fine. I'm thinking that I can't run from this, and I have to deal with it now."

"Good. That's good. But-"

"Ok, I can't lie to you." Mary interrupts. "I'm very thankful that you're trying to help me, and I need you, but this feels weird. I _did_ use to date him. It just doesn't feel right talking about him with you. I'm not comfortable with it."

"Oh, OK." Wilson says, sounding hurt. "I understand."

"Really? Do you?"

"Yes. It's fine."

Twelve minutes after he says that, the doors open once more, and Mary's younger siblings enter.

"Uh, we heard what happened." Lucy starts.

"I'm happy he's gone. He was such a jerk." Ruthie says.

"Ruthie!"

"I agree with her Lucy." Simon says. "He never treated you the way you deserve to be treated. Wilson is so much better than that loser."

Mary smiles, and shakes her head. She wishes it were as clear-cut as they were making it out to be.

"I'm sorry. We probably aren't helping. Well go now." Lucy says, as she puts her hands behind Simon and Ruthie's backs, pushing them to the door. All three of them walk out. 

Mary thinks for a second, and comes up with an idea. She leans over and pecks Wilson on the cheek. "I'll be right back." She says to him as she stands up. He looks at her concerned. "Don't worry," she says, "it's just a family thing." Wilson nods and Mary leaves.

She can her the trio in the upstairs hallway. She runs up the stairs and stands next to her brother and sisters. 

"Thank you. I understand what you meant, and means a lot to me that you guys care about me. Thanks." She wraps her arms around all of them in a group hug. _We haven't had one of these in a while, since the twins were born._

Simon and Ruthie walk to their rooms, but Lucy lingers. "I hope I didn't disturb anything between you and Wilson. I just thought you might want to know that we all know."

"You didn't disturb anything." There is an awkward silence. "Luce, can you help me with something?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Well, it's about Robbie."

"You want me to help you?"

"Yes, I need you."

"Wow. OK. But why me? Why not Wilson?"

"Its weird talking to him about Robbie. So will you help me when he leaves, please?"

"Yeah."

"OK, as soon as he leaves we'll talk."

"That's fine." 

Mary sits back downstairs with Wilson for about 45 minutes in silence. Wilson can tell that she is understandably upset just by sitting next to her, but he could sense she was getting better. 

"I'm going to go. You OK?"

"Yeah, I'll be all right."

"Do you need me for anything?"

"No, not really."

"OK. I'm going to run some errands before I go home, so if you want me you can beep me."

" 'Kay."

They kiss good-bye passionately for three minutes.

"I'll call you later. Bye."

"Bye." She says back, and sees him to the door.

Once he leaves, Mary walks upstairs to the attic bedroom. She goes into the bathroom and splashes some cold water on her face, hoping that that would help her. She then walks into her bedroom, and weeps into her pillow. She doesn't even notice that Lucy is in the room with her.

"Oh my god, what's wrong?"

"Honestly, I don't know." She says between sobs. "Help me Luce?"

"I don't know if I can. You sure you don't want to talk to dad, or mom? I'll go get Mom."

"No, they won't understand."

"And I will?"

"Maybe, I don't know. But I need someone to talk to, and I want to talk to you. Please Luce?" Mary pleads with her sister.

"Okay." Lucy says as she sits down on the bed beside Mary. "What do you want to talk about? Robbie?"

"Yeah. I feel really bad. I miss him. Is that wrong?"

"No. You've gone through a lot with him, and you've got a ton of emotions tied to him."

"I feel really bad though, like I'm cheating on Wilson."

"You're not cheating on Wilson. You love Wilson, right?"

"Yes. But now I feel stuff for Robbie, things I shouldn't be feeling."

"Like what?"

"I don't know exactly."

"Then how do you know you have some type of feelings for him?"

"I just do."

"Did this start before or after you talk with him this morning?"

"After."

"But Mary, come on. Do I have to remind you of everything he's done to you- how much he's hurt you?"

"No." She sniffles.

"Then the way I see it, you love Wilson and only Wilson. For the past 6 months, even though you have been the saddest you have ever been, you have also been the happiest. You can't deny that. I can tell by the way you two look at each other, like no one else in the world exists, that you both really are in love. Robbie did a stupid thing, but I think he succeeded in what he was trying to do. He was trying to make you, or even everyone, feel sorry for him. He tried to put all of the guilt on you, so that he could have control over your thoughts. He is controlling you. He has made you doubt your love for Wilson. Robbie is a bad person, plain and simple. Whatever you felt for him in the past means nothing now, because even if you loved him, you didn't love the real Robbie Palmer. The real Robbie Palmer hurt you to the core, and I know you could never love anyone who would do that to you. Don't let this stupid incident ruin the one good thing you still have left in your life. Talk to Wilson; try to explain this to him. He likes it when you talk to him. Or don't talk to him about this, but at least keep talking to him. Don't push him away because of this; use him. You need him, and he's looking for you to turn to him. Forget about Robbie and let Wilson help you through this. _He_ loves you, not Robbie. Wilson."

Tears stream down Mary's face as her little sister wraps her arms around her. 

"You're going to be fine. What's everyone always tell you? You're strong. And you've had to deal with worse stuff than this. This'll be easy for you to overcome."

"Thanks Luce. But it still feels weird, I feel empty inside.  That gunshot keeps echoing through my mind."

"What gunshot?"

"Robbie shot himself."

"And you heard it?"

"Yeah. One second he was talking to me, and the next boom! - literally."

"Oh my god. I had no idea. That's awful. See, he is rotten. He couldn't of just left you a note, he had to make you listen to him die a painful death."

"Not helping."

"Sorry. But that does prove my point. I hate him. And what makes me sick is that there are hundreds of thousands of other guys just like Robbie still out there."

"Yeah."

"So did I help you?"

"You helped a lot actually. Thanks."

"No problem. I thought about what I was going to say to you for a half hour. And I'm not going anywhere, so if you want to talk some more…"

"I know where to find you." Mary wipes her tears away form her eyes. "I'm going to call Wilson."

"Good. I'll leave then. Good luck."

Mary picks up the phone, and pages Wilson. Within 3 minutes, the phone rings.

"I got your page. Are you all right? What's wrong?"

"I want to talk. So if you could stop by tonight, for dinner maybe-"

"Sure. Anything else?"

"No, that's it."

"OK. You hang in there. I love you Mary."

"I love you, too, Wilson."


	3. Chapter 3

The doorbell rings at quarter past 5. Mary answers it, knowing that it is Wilson. As soon as she sees him, she finds she has to struggle to fight back tears, but fails miserably. It looked as if a river was rushing from her eyes. Wilson puts his arms around Mary, and she digs her head into his chest. He takes her hand and walks her into the living room.

"How about you relax for a little bit and we can eat a little late."

She nods wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands. Wilson and Mary lie down on the couch together lengthwise, with Mary in-between Wilson's legs.

"Do you want to talk or do you just want to lie here?"

"Lie here, talk later." She says, snuggling closer to him. He kisses her lips nonchalantly.

"Everything will be all right, trust me. I love you."

"I love  you too." She answers, no longer able to keep her eyes open. The events of the day have surely taken their toll on her, and she quickly falls asleep in Wilson's arms. He notices how tired she is, and decides to let her sleep. 10 minutes later, Mrs. Camden comes into tell them dinner is on the table. Wilson quietly asks her to save plates for both of them, and she agrees to.

At 7:30, Mary and Wilson go into the kitchen to have their dinner. As they eat, they begin to talk. 

"So, did you have anything specific you wanted to say to me?"

"Not really, just that I love you. And that if I made you feel not needed, I'm sorry. I'm just not fully comfortable with all of this. It feels weird telling you about Robbie."

"How so? You've talked to me about him before."

"No, I talked to you about what he did to me, that's different. I never described my feelings towards him, and frankly I don't want to. Its not right for me to do that, so I'm not going to."

"OK. I'm not asking you to."

"I know, but I kind of felt that's what you were trying to get out of me before."

"I wasn't though. I was trying to get out about how you feel about his death, not about your relationship with him. I don't want to know about your relationship with Robbie or how you felt about him. He's not important to me, he never was. You are. You and Billy are the two people I care about." He touches her face lightly with his hand. "You know that right?" He can tell she does by the look in her eyes. "And you know that I love you, don't you?" She nods. "I want you to know that every time I say those words to you, I mean it, with all of my heart. You know that I think it's a big deal to say that, and that I wouldn't say it if I didn't feel it. We belong with each other, and I can't wait until you're my wife."

"And I cannot wait until you're my husband."

Their lips meet in a passionate kiss, as Annie strolls down the stares, catching a glimpse of the two. She clears her throat, and they stop.

"I'm glad to see that you're OK Mary." Mary blushes. Annie pulls up a chair next to them. "I wanted to talk to the two of you. Your father and I were talking Mary, and we came up with an idea, one that we're very proud of."

"Ok…"

"We've been thinking, and we decided that we could put an apartment in over the garage. And once its built, we would like you and Wilson to live in it, and Billy too of course."

"Oh Mom. Wow. Do you mean it?"

"Yes."

"Thank you." Mary says, as happy tears roll down her face. She is glad that her dream is starting to become a reality; she is going to actually marry Wilson. They are going to live together, eventually, and they already have place to stay.

"This is really nice of you and the Reverend." Wilson says.

"Well, it's our pleasure. This way we can keep and eye on you three. And I won't risk loosing my baby, either…or you Wilson. You've practically lived at out house for six months now. I noticed today that I set an extra place at the table now, out of habit. I just expect you to be here and eat with us." Annie laughs. "And we can always tell something is wrong with Mary when we don't see you around for a couple of hours." Mrs. Camden puts her hand on Wilson's arm. "We all treat you and Billy like family. And even though we weren't ok with the idea at first, we are looking forward to the two of you actually becoming a real part of our family."

"Thank you Mrs. Camden. You don't know how much that means to me."

"Your welcome Wilson." She says, as the both stand up and hug each other.

"Well, that's all I wanted to talk to you two about, so I'll go back upstairs and leave you to alone. Oh, and the blankets are still in the living room in case Wilson wants to stay."

"Thanks Mom." Mary says.

Annie smiles at the happy couple and walks away.

"Do you want to stay?" Mary asks Wilson.

"Sure, why not."

They walk into the living room, holding hands, and sit down on the couch.

"Are you tired?" he asks her.

"Sort of. Not so much tired, though, more like emotionally drained."

"Let me help." Wilson says softly, placing his lips against Mary's. Their kiss becomes more passionate as they explore the depths of each other mouths with their tongues. Eventually, they pull away in need of air.

"That helped a lot." Mary says with a slight smile. "And you've helped a lot. Everything always seems so complicated, but when I'm with you it just isn't anymore. You're honestly the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"And you me."

"Why do you say that? What have I done for you?"

"Come on, like you don't know."

Mary shakes her head.

"You're my reason to go on. I love Billy, you know I do, but it's very difficult to be a father at my age, and depressing. You're my reason to get out of bed every morning."

Mary kisses him. "Thank you. Even if you don't mean that, because I don't know how I possibly could have helped _you_, thank you."

"I do mean it." He says staring into her eyes.

"You're a great guy, you know that? No I take that back, you're a great man, a real man. You're the only real man that I've ever known."

"Thank you, but don't be so quick to sell yourself short. You're a great woman, and your going to make a great wife. I couldn't have asked for a better person to share the rest of my life with. And with that, let's sleep."

Mary squirms around, trying to find a comfortable position. She can't seem to find one that suits her.

"I hate this couch! I can't wait until we can sleep in a real bed. I'm always afraid that I'm too heavy to lay on top of you, or that I'll fall off, or even worse that I'll fall off and bring you down with me." She says sitting back up.

"Your not too heavy." He says, but she doesn't listening.

"We could sleep on the floor…" she says, pointing behind the couch.

"Okay, if that what you want."

They get up off the couch and set up the blankets on the floor. They crawl under them together, wrapping their arms around one another and entangling their legs provocatively. Mary rests her head on Wilson's shoulder. He kissed the top of her head.

"Are you OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Seriously, you're fine?"

"As fine as I'm going to be. Don't worry about me, I'm not."

"See, this is what I love about you. Your smart…and beautiful…and sweet…and funny…and kind…" he says, kissing his way from her neck down to her collarbone. He slips that shoulder off her tank top off and kisses from her collarbone over to her left shoulder. She pulls his face back up to hers and kisses his lips. After they pull away, Mary raises her eyebrow at him, seductively.

"No. See, don't get mad at me, but this is why I don't express my love for you in any way besides kissing you- on your mouth. Because you expect everything to lead to sex."

"Not everything." She says to him. He glares back at her. "But why not? That's what I don't understand. We just spent the last 2 hours telling each other how much we love the other, and we're getting married. Why not now?"

"There are many reasons." He says, as he grabs her hand to try to keep her focused. "One, we are on the floor of your parents' living room. Not that romantic. Two, when we do have sex, eventually, I want it to be special, and this is not special. Third, and the most important one, your not ready."

"Yes I am."

"No, I mean emotionally. Today was hard enough for you; I don't want to add to it. I was thinking about this, and I think that waiting until we get married would be best for you. That way you'll know when it's going to happen, and you can emotionally prepare for it. No matter what you say, it's not going to be easy."

"Yeah, but I'll have you, and I want you. You don't get it. I want to be as close to you as we possibly can be."

"But the longer we wait, the better it will be."

"But it will be amazing now."

"And how would you know."

"I wasn't numb when he raped me."

Wilson's eyes widen. "Why don't we stop talking about this."

"Why? Does it make you nervous?"

"Honestly, a little. But that's besides the point…"

"Come on Wilson. We love each other." She pleads.

"Yes, we do, but you're not going to pressure me into having sex with you." 

Mary smiles, but quickly wipes it off her face. "You don't understand."

"You're right, I don't, because I don't see the importance in doing it right now. Let's wait, please."

"Fine," she says with a bit of an attitude.

"Don't be mad at me Mare," he says, wrapping his arms around her. She rolls away from so that she is no longer facing him.

"I'm not mad at you, I just don't know anymore."

"Don't know what."

"Nothing, never mind. I'm sorry."

"Come here." He positions her between his legs. She wraps her legs around his tightly. "Better?"

"Much."

"OK, good. Sleep now."

She closes her eyes and falls into a deep sleep. About an hour later, she starts to turn in her sleep. Mary opens her eyes suddenly, and finds her heart beating fast and that she is short of breath. She starts to cry, recalling her dream, and remembering that it seemed more like a reality. She slowly frees herself from Wilson's grasp, and stands up. She walks up the stairs, and into her bathroom in search of the box of tissues.  She fumbles around in the dark, putting her hands out in front of her. She feels around at the spot where the tissues usually are, but doesn't find them. She figures Lucy must have taken them into the bedroom. Reluctantly, she stumbles inside, sobbing and all. She cannot locate the tissues in the blackness, and it is not long before Lucy hears her.

"Mary? Is that you?"

"Yes." She says, immediately trying to stop crying, but to no avail. Lucy turns on the light by her bed, and sees Mary's tear-stricken face.

"Why are you up here? Isn't Wilson here? Are you crying? What's wrong?" she says squinting as her eyes adjust to the light.

"Tissues, yes, maybe, and nothing."

"Tissues are over there." Lucy says, pointing at the desk. "Now come and tell me what's bothering you. Is it Robbie?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Yes you do, otherwise you wouldn't have come up here. There's tissues downstairs."

"I came up here because I didn't want Wilson to here me crying."

"Maybe, but that's not the whole truth. What's wrong?"

"Its stupid-" she says trying to shrug it off.

"I don't care. I won't laugh at you." Lucy says interrupting her.

"I had a bad dream."

"What happened in it?"

"Look, I already told you, I really don't want to talk about it. Can I just stay up here for 15 minutes without you hounding me?"

"Fine, but you know Wilson is going to come look for you."

"No he won't. He won't even notice I'm gone. He was sound asleep."

"I notice when you're not here, and he's in the same bed – err, couch - with you. Believe me he'll notice."

And with that, Wilson comes walking through the door. "Mary, are you ok? I rolled over and you weren't there, I was worried."

"Yeah, I guess I'm ok." She answers, but all three of them know that that's a lie.

Wilson sits down on the bed next to her and puts his arm around her back.

"I just came up here to get the box of tissues."

Lucy coughs loudly and pats her chest. "Sorry, I guess I must be coming down with something."

Mary glares at her sister, who just smiles.

"OK fine, I didn't come up here just to get tissues. Maybe we should go downstairs and talk though, because Lucy has to get up in the morning. Besides, she needs her rest if she's getting sick." Mary smiles at her sister, getting a slight taste of revenge.

"Oh, come on!" Lucy protests. "After you woke me up in the middle of the night, and after I helped you today you're just not going to tell me."

"That's right." Mary retorts. Lucy begins to pout. "Fine, fine, I'll tell you later. Good night." She says, walking out of the door, dragging Wilson behind her.

Once they get back downstairs, they walk into the living room and sit down on the couch. As soon as they touch the fabric of the couch, Mary clutches Wilson tightly. He holds her back, not knowing what was going on. He could hear that she was crying, and tries to comfort her without saying anything, waiting for her to be the first to speak. 

"Promise me you won't ever leave me?" she asks him.

"Never, I promise."

After 20 seconds, Mary sits up and dries her eyes. Wilson grabs her hand, and notices that it's shaking.

"I feel like an idiot." She begins.

"You're not an idiot." He tells her, having no clue where she was going with this.

"I-I had a dream that- you know what forget it, its stupid. I'll be OK."

"Its obviously upsetting you, but if you don't want to tell me that's fine. I'm not going to force you."

Mary thinks for a second. "Promise you won't laugh?"

"Promise."

"I had a dream that you and me and Billy and my parents and brothers and sisters were all somewhere. The room was bright and we all seemed so happy. Then all of the sudden Robbie burst through the door, kills me, kills you, and then kills himself. You tried to save me, though, but it didn't work. Then we disappeared, I don't know how but we did, and my family wasn't even fazed. They watched him kill me and didn't care. And Billy was left all alone, and-" She is unable to finish her sentence because she is crying hysterically.

Wilson holds Mary out in front of him by her shoulders. "You know that would never happen, right? Robbie's gone, and your family does care about you. They love you, almost as much as I love you." he says brushing her face with his hand. "Ok?"

She nods. "That was stupid, wasn't it?"

"Not at all. It seemed perfectly normal to me. You're scared, but I have you. There isn't anything to be afraid of."

"You tried to save me then, too, but you couldn't."

"But it was only a dream."

"Yeah," she says with a yawn. "Wilson, I was thinking…" she says.

"And?"

"What do you say to moving up our wedding date?"

"We haven't even set a date yet."

"But we set a general time."

"To when?"

"Um, really soon." She says, playing with his fingers, not able to look him in the eyes.

"How soon?"

"2 ½ hours."

"What?!"

"We could drive to Las Vegas. We'll have a mini-honeymoon and come back Tuesday."

"Are you serious?" he asks, staring deep into her eyes.

"Yes. I don't want to wait anymore. And tomorrow is not guaranteed. Please Wilson. I want you. I want to be married to you, now, so we'll never have to leave each other."

"And what brought this about?"

"The thought of you having to leave me later. I don't want you to go. I never want you to leave, but now I just really need you. I've been needing you more and more lately. I'm lost when you're not here."

"But maybe now's not the best time. I mean, you're going through this whole Robbie thing now. I don't think now is the right time. We could push the date up more, maybe in a couple of months."

"I really want to get married now. It feels right."

"But we have to tell everyone. And don't you want your dad to marry us? That's the way I always pictured it. And Ruthie as the flower girl and Billy as the ring bearer. We don't even have rings."

"We don't need rings to be married. And maybe I could con my dad into marrying us, now, instead of going to Vegas, then we could get it over with and be married already."

"I guess. But how would you do that? And why would you want to?"

"I already told you why I want to. I'd tell him that this whole thing shook me up, and I want to get married now. This whole thing has put things into perspective for me, and I don't want to wait. I'll tell him I still want him to be a part of it, but I just want to do it now."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"If this is what you want then its fine with me."

"Really?" she asks enthusiastically.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Great," she responds, and kisses him passionately.

"But how about we wait until tomorrow morning."

"All right." Mary grin goes from ear to ear. She hasn't been this happy since she first met Wilson.

"Want to try to go back to sleep."

"I guess."

"Couch or floor?"

"Floor."

They lie back down to sleep, and this time sleep through the night. 

Mary awakens early the next morning, and kisses Wilson's lips lightly, hoping to wake him up. He begins to stir, and slowly opens his eyes.

"Hello." He says to her, and leans up to kiss her lips above his face.

"Let's go talk to my dad."

Wilson is caught off guard. "Now? What times is it?"

"Six."

"In the morning?"

"Yes silly."

"Right, right now?" She gives him a puppy-dog face, and he smiles. "Ok, Ok. Give me a couple of minutes."

Wilson sits up and Mary sits in his lap. "You sure?"

"Yes. Ready?"

"For my dad to scream at me, no."

"Maybe he won't yell." Mary glares at him. "Or maybe he will." She smiles and kisses his cheek. They both stand up, and clasp hands. "Wait, I forgot to ask you. How are you doing? Are you all right?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Thanks for asking."

"Really? I thought you hated it when anyone ask you how you are."

"Well yeah…but you're not anyone."

Mary and Wilson walk up stairs and knock on her parent's bedroom door.

"Dad, can Wilson and I talk to you? Its kind of important." She asks through the door.

"Sure, I'll be out in five minutes."

Ten minutes later, Mary tells her father her plan, and tries to explain her reasoning. He doesn't even let her finish, though. "What?! This is insane. That's the only word for it, insane."

"No its not. This is what I want. Please Dad. You and mom are both always talking about how you can help me, well this will help. I want to be married to Wilson- now. I can't wait any longer. I want to include you in this, but I don't have to you know."

"Are you threatening to elope if I won't marry you right now?"

"It's possible."

"Mary!" Eric takes a deep breath and controls his temper. "Please, don't do this. You couldn't have even put that much thought into it."

"It doesn't matter how much thought I put into it. My mind is made up; this is what I want. I love Wilson, and I want to marry him."

"And Wilson? Is his what you want too?"

"Yes, Sir." He answered.

"Well, let me think about this one."

After an hour of anxiety, Eric reenters the kitchen with Annie. At the sight of them, Mary and Wilson grab each other's hand tightly.

"Look, I-we, uh…you're not pregnant, are you?" Eric asks seriously.

"Dad! No!"

"Just asking, because I was thinking, you know, why would you guys want to rush to get married all of the sudden? I mean, where's the fire?"

Mary bites her tongue to refrain from saying anything.

"What your father means is," Annie starts, "why right now? Can't you wait a little bit, 6 months?"

"No, I can't." Mary looks into Wilson's eyes for the courage to continue. "I'd like to tell you why I feel like I have to get married right now, but I can't. I can't put it into words." She squeezes Wilson's hand tightly. "I love him so much, so strong, that I can't wait any longer, and I honestly don't see the point in it. I've been waiting for over four years. I don't have the strength to wait any longer."

"And I feel the same way." Wilson adds, smiling at his fiancé.

"You understand, don't you Mom?"

Annie smiles at Eric, "Yes, I have to say I do."

Mary turns to her father with tears in her eyes. "Please marry us Daddy."

"You haven't called me Daddy in 10 years." Is all he can say before he slumps down into a chair.

"This is what you really want, what you both really want?"

"Yes" Mary and Wilson both say in unison.

"Well then I guess I only have one choice…"


	4. Chapter 4

"Mary, Wilson, I'll marry you." Eric finishes. "But not right now, this afternoon maybe."

"Thank you." Mary cries, throwing her arms around her father, something she hasn't done in a very long time.

Wilson shakes Eric's hands and hugs Annie who is crying.

"You two think about this now. If you have any doubts, let me know." 

"Thanks Dad, but we won't."

Eric and Annie go upstairs, and Mary gets up from her chair and sits in Wilson's lap.

"We're getting married!" She says enthusiastically.

"Yeah, and soon. Really really soon."

"Are you having second thoughts? Tell me the truth."

"No, not at all. This is all just a little mind boggling- but a good mind boggling."

Mary kisses his lips lightly, and he returns the kiss.

"We have so much to do." He says. "We have to get rings, and you need a dress and I need a tux and…"

"No we don't. Spontaneity is the spice of life."

"I thought that was variety."

"Well I'm changing it." She laughs. "Besides, we don't need any of that stuff. The only thing I want is you, and I don't need and dress and you don't need a tux for that."

"We should at least get rings. You need rings, they're part of the ceremony."

"Okay." She agrees. "But not right now."

"How come?"

"Its not even 8 o' clock yet."

"Oh."

"We could go back in the living room and sleep a little while longer…I'm going to need my rest for tonight." She says mischievously. 

"Is that what this is all about? Sex?" Wilson asks playfully.

"No, honestly its not. I just really need you. My love for you runs so deep; I had to do something with it. This, getting married, feels so right. I need you to be my husband."

Wilson's mouth captures hers in a passionate kiss before she can finish her thought. They make out for 20 minutes, until someone comes downstairs and interrupts them.

"You've already besieged the living room, must you have the kitchen, too?" Simon says bitterly.

"What's your problem?"

"Nothing, except I haven't had a girlfriend for four months now."

"Sorry." Mary retorts unsympathetically.

Simon walks out of the room, but in walks Lucy.

"Good morning." She says, kind of startled to see them in there. "How are feeling today Mary, better?"

"Yes, much. And how 'bout you Luce?"

"I…uh…"

Mary laughs. "You know what Luce, would you mind if me and Wilson drove you guys to school? We have some shopping we have to do."

"No…I guess that would be fine." Lucy is skeptical of Mary, but doesn't press her on it. She knows that she wouldn't tell her anything in front of Wilson.

****

Mary and Wilson return home at 10:30, with two wedding rings among them. They walk inside the back door and find Annie sitting there.

"Oh good, I'm glad you two are home. How's four o'clock sound?"

"Great."

"And, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I booked a hotel room for you two for tonight, my treat."

Mary blushes. "Thanks Mom," she says looking at the floor, pushing her hair behind her ears.

Annie says good-bye and walks upstairs. Mary turns to Wilson and smiles.

"What?" he asks, looking at her face. She doesn't say anything. "What?" he asks again.

"You know, you're cute when you're confused."

"Thanks…I think."

Mary laughs. "Now, what do you want to do? We have 4 hours to kill."

"Um…we could go back upstairs."

The two of them walk upstairs and into Mary's bedroom. They sit down on Mary's bed, and she leans her head against Wilson's shoulder. He puts his arm around her and leans down to kiss the top of her head.

"You OK?"

"Yeah…its just…"

"What? Cold feet?"

"No!" she replies quickly. "Well, maybe a little I guess."

Wilson smiles. "Look, how about I go home, leave you alone for a little while, and I'll be back at 3:30."

"I love you."

"I love you too. Now, clear your head. Everything is going to be fine. And if it's not fine, and you want to wait, that's OK with me. Its up to you."

Wilson leaves, and Mary lies back on her bed. She closes her eyes and tries to get some sleep. She naps for a while, and awakens up at 2:54. She stumbles downstairs, still not fully awake, and sees Lucy sitting in the kitchen, after just arriving home from school. Mary tries to run back up the stairs, but Lucy sees her. 

"Hey! Get back here!" she calls after her.

Mary walks back downstairs. "Luce! How was your day at school?"

"Don't Luce me. You're getting married this afternoon?!"

"Yeah, I am."

"And when were you going to tell me?"

"When you got home."

"Well I walk in the door, and had to find out from Mom!"

"Why are you so upset about this? It's not like it your wedding."

"Well, yeah, but…" 

Lucy looks away from Mary. Mary sits down next to her at the table.

"Are you crying?"

"No," she says, sniffling.

Mary gently turns her Lucy face towards her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, its just that…are you leaving me?"

"No Luce, I'm never going to leave you. I might not always be with you, but I won't leave you. And mom said that they're going to build an apartment over the garage, for Wilson and I. I 'm not going anywhere, don't worry. But even if I were, even if I were across the country, it wouldn't change anything. You'll always be my sister, my right hand girl." Lucy smiles, and lets out a nervous laugh. "Lucy, we'll always have a special relationship. You and me share something Wilson and I never will, we're sisters. And beyond sisters, you're my best friends. Nothing is ever going to change that, not marriage, not kids, nothing."

"I know. It's just going to be weird. You won't be one of us anymore, you'll be his."

"What?"

"You won't be a Camden anymore."

Mary rolls her eyes. "I'll always be a Camden. I won't even have a chance to turn un-Camden like, I'm going to be over the garage, whenever that is ready."

"Where are you two- three- going to live until then?"

"I don't know."

"Oh. Are you going on a honeymoon?"

"Not quite, hotel room in Glenoak."

"How romantic!" Lucy says sarcastically.

"It doesn't matter. The only thing I want is him. I don't have to go somewhere exotic to have him, I can have him here in Glenoak, and for a lot less money, too." Mary smiles, and attempts to break the tension. "So, will you be my maid of honor?"

"It would be my pleasure." They sit for a couple of seconds in silence. "So you're really going to do this? You're getting married this afternoon?"

"Yeah." She says smiling with enthusiasm.

****

About and hour later,  Mary is standing in the kitchen, with her sisters and mother. She is wearing her mother's wedding dress, and Lucy is  fixing her make-up. They complete the finishing touches, and Mary begins to pace back and forth. Her hands are clasped together, and slightly quivering due to her nervousness. 

"Sit down, you're going to wear a hole in the floor," Lucy jokes.

"I can't sit down. I'm too nervous to sit still."

"Mom said she was the same way when she married dad." Ruthie comments.

Mary continues to pace back and forth, back and forth. Lucy suddenly jumps in front of her. "Stop, you're driving me nuts!"

"Ok, ok, ok!" she screams, turning the other way.

With that, Matt walks inside from the backyard. "You look beautiful." He says, looking at Mary. 

She smiles. "I just hope Wilson thinks so."

"He will, don't worry." He walks over to Mary and takes her hands. "It's time."

Lucy and Ruthie run outside, giggly, and disappear through the door. Mary and Matt walk to the door. She waits until she hears her mother playing the wedding march on the piano, wrong notes and all, and steps outside.

Wilson and Mary's eyes meet from a distance, and they fall in love all over again. As she paces her steps towards Wilson, she is no longer nervous. 

_I love him, and he loves me. He's going to take good care of me, and I'm going to take care of him and Billy. We will be perfect together, we already are. There's nothing to worry about. It will all work out in the end, because we were meant to be together. This is right._

*****THE END*****

This is the end of this series. I am done with this, but knowing me I'll go back and write a little something about after they are married. I really want to break away from this plot though, and start something new. I realize the wedding, the whole concept of Annie and Eric agreeing to it, as well as it happening that afternoon is absurd, but that's why it's FICTION. I didn't go into detail on the wedding because I always find weddings to be extremely boring, whether it be to read or watch on T.V.. Anyways, if anybody actually finishes the story, I hope you liked it. If you didn't feel free to review and tell me how I could have improved it. Look for a new story from me, hopefully sometime this week, (week of Nov. 3) because I only go to school Wednesday. 


End file.
